Giethoorn is a beautiful village, and if you’re wondering how to get to Giethoorn if you’re coming from neighboring cities, then you’ve come to the right page!
By Car
If you are coming by car, you need to know where you can park. The good news here is the parking in the village is free almost everywhere.
P-Route Parking Spaces
In Giethoorn, we follow a clear P-Route system, and the good thing about this is that wherever you choose to park in the P-route, you can guarantee that you will be within five minutes away from a restaurant, boat rental, or a tour company.
The P-Routes around the village are in various zones that are divided into colors—red, green, and yellow.
- Red: Centre-south
- Green: Centre-centre
- Yellow: Centre north
Additionally, each parking lot has its color and number combination, which makes it easy to find.
Parking at an Accommodation
If you have booked a stay at an accommodation in the village, you will have your own parking space. It’s important you inform your accommodation in advance should you have any specifics when it comes to your parking. However, you also need to make sure that the place you’re staying in has inclusive parking or not. booking.com and Agoda offer information about parking for each accommodation they serve.
Parking At A Restaurant
A lot of restaurants in the village have their own parking spaces, which you can use for free if you have a table inside.
By Train
Keep in mind that there’s no train station in Giethoorn. The nearest train stations to get to the village are in:
- Steenwijk
- Meppel
From any of the stations, you can take the bus to the village. You can also take a taxi or rent a bike at the station.
From Steenwijk
- By bike: Steenwijk is approximately 8 kilometers away from the center of Giethoorn.
- By taxi: The taxi rank is at the right hand when you come off the train platform. Taxis have a blue license plate. If there’s no taxi available, you can contact the taxi station via the column.
- By bus: You can bus line 70 towards Zwolle/Genne or line 270: the Giethoorn Express that runs twice an hour all summer. The latter follows a faster route to the village. Get off at the Hylkemaweg-Giethoorn Centre or Hollands Venice.
From Meppel
***There is no direct bus connection, so if you want to take the bus to Giethoorn, travel to Steenwijk instead.***
- By bike: You can rent a bike at the bike shop. The ride is about 9.5 kilometers and you can choose from several routes to take. One of the popular routes is “indoor” which will take you through the farmlands and through the village of Wanneperveen.
Getting to Giethoorn from Major Cities
It’s easy to get to the village from major cities in The Netherlands.
Amsterdam to Giethoon
Catch the intercity train to Almere and switch to the intercity to Leeuwarden. You can also take the intercity directly to Leeuwarden. In about an hour and a half, you will reach the Steenwijk station where you can either take the bus, bike, or taxi to get to the village.
Rotterdam To Giethoorn
Hop on a train at Rotterdam Central and take the intercity to Groningen. When you get to Zwolle, you will switch to the train to Leeuwarden, which will also stop at Steenwijk.
The Hague To Giethoorn
Get on the train directly to Leeuwarden. You can get to Steenwijk station in two hours and from there you can choose from three different transportation options to get to the village.
Utrecht to Giethoorn
Take the train directly into the intercity to Leeuwarden. Similar to travel time if you’re coming from The Hague, this will take two hours to reach Steenwijk.
London tGiethoorn
You can hop on a plane from Groningen to Schiphol, which will take about an hour and 15 minutes.
- From Groningen: Take the intercity to Zwolle to reach the Steenwijk station.
- From Schipol: Take the intercity to Leeuwarden and get off in Steenwijk.
Barcelona to Giethoorn
From Barcelona the easiest way is to take the airplane to Eindhoven or Amsterdam. With Ryanair, Easyjet, or KLM you only flying around 2,5 hours to one of the airports in the Netherlands. From the airport, you can take the train to Steenwijk train station.
The train costs around 1,5 hours. From Steenwijk train station you can rent an electric bike, grab a bike or take the bus. From Steenwijk to Giethoorn is only 7 kilometers.
Do you have any questions? Leave it in the comment section below!
